The Clean Water for Zambia event featured the Saskatoon Men’s Chorus at Zion United Church on Sunday afternoon. The four United Churches of Moose Jaw put it on.

“We were looking for some kind of a project to work on together and our national church has ongoing projects through a number of different projects throughout the world and this one just seemed to appeal to us,” said Rev. Jim Tenford of St. Andrew’s United Church, one of the organizers and Master of Ceremonies for part of the event.

“Maybe it’s because of all the water difficulties around the city this year, but we decided that we wanted to raise this money for a well for a community in Zambia.”

For $5,000 a small bore hole well can be dug and a large one can be dug for $10,000.

“It’s our outreach program for the year,” said Tenford. “The concert is part of that ongoing project. This is sort of our more visible, more public fundraising event for that.”

All funds from ticket sales will support the project.

“We have had a donation that has actually paid for the cost of the choir,” said Tenford. “Everything that comes from the ticket sales goes straight to this project, 100 per cent of it, which is really nice.”

Lynn Driedger, director of the Saskatoon Men’s Chorus, said his father founded the chorus in 1980 and is a community, non-auditioned choir.

“It’s important for us as a chorus to get out in the community as much as possible and not just Saskatoon and area,” he said. “There’s also the cause here to so it’s a win-win situation for us and for the well project.”

The chorus is comprised of men mostly from Saskatoon, but some members come from areas as far away as Blaine Lake and Drake.

“It’s a wide range of guys,” he said.

Tenford the inspiration to raise funds for a well in Zambia came from a member of the church. It was during the second time water to the church had been cut off.

“One gentleman in his wisdom said, ‘Yeah, well you know, for billions of people around the world this is just the reality of their life,’” said Tenford. “So from that, we thought, ‘you know he’s right. We need to offer some help to some people that don’t have water any time.’”

He said it’s important to help out neighbours and people in need.

“Our neighbour can be the person next door or it can be a person around the world. We truly believe that all of humanity is our neighbour,” said Tenford. “Just because we don’t know them, just because we’ve never met them, it doesn’t mean that we aren’t related. We can offer help.”

If anyone would like to donate to the ongoing project, contact any of the four United Churches in Moose Jaw.